‘Supercluster’ tech groups to share up to $950M in federal cash

OTTAWA — Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains has named five technology groups that will each get a piece of up to $950 million in what the government calls its “superclusters” initiative, a high-tech collaboration strategy aimed at fostering growth and creating jobs.

— The Digital Technology supercluster in British Columbia will use big data and digital technologies to unlock new potential in important sectors like health care, forestry, and manufacturing;

— The Protein Industries supercluster in the Prairies will work on making the country a leading source of plant proteins;

— The Ocean supercluster based in Atlantic Canada will use innovation to improve competitiveness in Canada’s ocean-based industries, including fisheries, oil and gas and clean energy;

— The Scale AI supercluster in Quebec will work on building intelligent supply chains through artificial intelligence and robotics;

— The Advanced Manufacturing supercluster in Ontario will connect technology strengths to manufacturing industry to prepare for the economy of tomorrow.

The supercluster concept is designed to bring together small, medium-sized and large companies, academic institutions and not-for-profit organizations to generate forward-looking, job-creating ideas and innovation.

“What is a supercluster? It is a made-in-Canada Silicon Valley that will create tens of thousands of jobs — that’s what a supercluster is,” Bains said Thursday as he unveiled the winners in Ottawa.

“It’s about collaboration as well. Look at this room — we have academia, business, you have small business and large business, and we have government — working together, promoting collaboration, supporting our supply chains and also developing and nurturing skills and knowledge and making sure that we pass that knowledge from one generation to another.

“Superclusters — it’s a job magnet.”

The government is planning on not only a stronger, innovation-driven economy as a result of the initiative, but at least more than 50,000 jobs, he added.